Damien Chazelle Wins Best Director at the 2017 Golden Globes

Most of the attention in the Oscar race so far has been focused on Moonlight, and with good reason; it is an amazing film. But don’t count out La La Land just yet; the movie is a feel-good crowd-pleaser, and these awards are, after all, popularity contests. Tonight Damien Chazelle, director of La La Land took home the Golden Globe for Best Director, making this year’s Oscar race that much more interesting.

Chazelle had some serious competition for this award, too: Tom Ford from Nocturnal Animals, Mel Gibson from Hacksaw Ridge, Kenneth Lonergan from Manchester by the Sea, and, of course, Barry Jenkins from Moonlight. I probably would have put my money on (and maybe cast my ballot for) Jenkins but, y’know, that’s the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for you. They are predictably unpredictable. Tonight, they gave Damien Chazelle the award over Jenkins, Lonergan, and the rest. Maybe it was partly making up for the fact that they didn’t even nominate Chazelle for Whiplash. Maybe that had nothing to do with it. Who knows? These Golden Globes, and the people that hand them out, are mysterious. But the impact they sometimes have on the awards season is very real.

For more of our 2017 Golden Globes coverage click here, and for a full list of winners go here.

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